The Crossings outlet mall is sold

Major retail center owner pays $111 million for Tannersville stores.

The Crossings Factory Stores in the Poconos has been sold for $111.3 million to the largest U.S. owner of factory outlet shopping centers.

Chelsea Property Group of Roseland, N.J., bought the 12-year-old outlet center off Interstate 80 in Tannersville from privately held Outletter Associates.

Among the 108 stores at the Crossings are such high-end retailers as Polo Ralph Lauren, GAP, Coach, Nautica, Timberland and Tommy Hilfiger.

Chelsea also has an option to buy land off I-80, about 10 miles east of the Crossings. It is considering developing a new outlet center there, the company said.

"Over the years, we have heard from many of the industry's core tenants that the Crossings has consistently ranked in the top 10 of all their outlet locations," David Bloom, Chelsea chairman and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. "We are very pleased to be adding it to our portfolio, and consider it to have important strategic value as well as strong internal growth potential."

Terms of the deal call for Chelsea to pay $50.3 million in cash and $61 million in assumed debt, a mortgage. The company will pay an additional $5 million when a 21,000-square-foot expansion of the outlet center is completed, which is scheduled for mid-2004.

The outlet center is off the Route 611 exit of I-80, 12 miles west of the New Jersey border. The center's average tenant sales in 2002 were $385 per square foot, making it one of the most productive properties in the outlet industry, Chelsea said.

Chelsea, a real estate investment trust that partly or wholly owns 59 high-end outlets and shopping centers in 31 states and Japan, said Friday it sold $50.5 million worth in shares of stock to repay banks the money used to buy the Crossings.

The company's leading properties include Woodbury Common Premium Outlets near New York City; Orlando Premium Outlets in Orlando, Fla.; Wrentham Village Premium Outlets near Boston; and Gotemba Premium Outlets near Tokyo.

Shares of Chelsea Property Group fell less than 1 percent Friday, closing at $42.45 on the New York Stock Exchange.